Lawn bowls / Ra'anana claims pairs crown

Ra'anana's Helen Gordon and Ruth Kavalsky came through to win the women's pairs tournament, beating Ramat Gan's Riri Merav and Dafna Rothstein at the Ramat Hasharon club earlier this month.

With Gordon holding shot and the score tied at five-all after six ends of a nine-head game, Merav ran into the head to remove Gordon's bowl and convert to an excellent two-count. She then drew a third to jump ahead to 8-5. But the jump proved very temporary. In the very next end the Ra'anana pair scored a five when both Kavalsky and Gordon drew around the jack. This time the Ramat Gan pair failed to save the situation and fell behind 10-8.

Needing two shots to peel and play off an extra head, Ramat Gan did lie one shot with the critical second requiring a measure. But it was not to be for Ramat Gan - the Ra'anana pair finished off excellently to win 10-9.

In its semifinal Ra'anana beat Haifa's Tova Libman and Amalia Levi, while Ramat Gan bested Haifa's other semifinalists, Irit Grencel and Jacquie Lieberthal, 12-4.

For Helen Gordon, 80, the win would be no novelty. Her international record started way back in 1977 when as a member of Israel's first women's team to the World Bowls Championships, she finished fourth in the singles out of 18 players, beating the eventual winner from New Zealand in a preliminary round. Then again in 1981 she was a member of Israel's team to win Israel's first World Bowls Medal - a bronze in the fours.